Leverage Agency

Leverage Agency Named Sports Business Awards 2010 Finalist

by Lewis Howes|March 18th, 2010

81822-Ponturo_Sturner Congratulations to our friends at Leverage Agency for being named finalists in the 2010 Sports Business Awards. They were nominated for a “Best in Best in Property, Consulting, Sales and Client Services,” along with four other companies. The awards show is being hosted by SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily for the third year and will take place at the New York Marriott Marquis on May 20. The awards recognize the excellence and outstanding achievement in the business of sports in 15 categories. Sports Networker wishes Ben Sturner and the Leverage Agency Team the best of luck. We are honored to be connected to such a great group of sports industry professionals.

Learn more about Leverage Agency by visiting them online and give them a shout out on twitter.

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by Ben Sturner|March 6th, 2010

Bob Arum Says Deal Reached For Yankee Stadium To Host June Bout

Top Rank Chair Bob Arum Thursday night said that Yankee Stadium will host a June 5 bout between Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto, according to Dave Skretta of the AP.
Yankee Stadium could hold 30,000-35,000 fans for Foreman-Cotto bout.

(www.sportsbusinessdaily.com)

LPGA renews Blue Diamond, signs Florida’s Natural

By John Lombardo

The LPGA has renewed its sponsorship deal with Blue Diamond Almonds and signed Florida’s Natural Brand citrus growers as an official partner.

(www.sportsbusinessjournal.com)

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About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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by Ben Sturner|February 12th, 2010

espn360

Rebranding: ESPN360 Becomes ESPN3 In April

By David Goetzl

The online live sports hub, ESPN360.com, will be rebranded ESPN3.com in April. ESPN3 will be available in 50 million homes, free to subscribers of broadband providers that have agreed to pay ESPN a TV-style fee to offer it.
ESPN has not used Web lexicon recently in referring to ESPN360 — classifying it instead as a network. In a statement, ESPN executive Sean Bratches, who oversees marketing, said the ESPN3 switch “closely aligns with the existing name convention” for ESPN channels. Expansion from the 1979 flagship began with ESPN2 in 1993.

(www.mediapost.com)

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by Ben Sturner|February 7th, 2010

EA Teams Up With Doritos For Bowl Promo

By Aaron Baar

Super Bowl Sunday means two things for most Americans: Snacks and Football. EA Sports is hoping to capitalize on the conversation by partnering with Doritos to give fans the chance to choose the cover athlete for the upcoming version of its popular gaming franchise, “Madden NFL 11.”
“To associate our brand with Doritos is an honor, and it’s a great opportunity to talk about our brand on the product,” Chris Erb, senior director of marketing partnerships for EA Sports, tells Marketing Daily. “They’re going to sell a lot of chips, and we’re going to be a part of that. The timing is perfect.”

(www.mediapost.com)

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by Ben Sturner|January 22nd, 2010

Leverage, Top Rank partner for boxing upfront presentation

By Jon Show

The Leverage Agency and Top Rank will partner this Saturday on what they are calling the first advertising and sponsorship upfront in the history of boxing.
Other boxing promoters and networks like ESPN aggregate the rights to multiple fights as part of advertising and sponsorship sales, but industry insiders believe this is the first time a promoter has partnered with an agency and television networks to package rights for a formal upfront-style boxing presentation.
Under a multiyear relationship, Top Rank and the Leverage Agency are pooling sponsorship and advertising rights to 48 fights in 2010, including 12 pay-per-view events and 36 events on FSN or Fox Sports en Español. The 12 PPV events will feature three “super fights,” including Manny Pacquiao’s bout at Cowboys Stadium against Joshua Clottey on March 13.

(www.sportsbusinessjournal.com)

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by Ben Sturner|January 15th, 2010

Haiti In Rubble: Marketers, Aid Groups Rush To Help

By Karl Greenbery

Coca-Cola has pledged $1 million through the Coca-Cola Foundation to the American Red Cross for disaster-relief efforts in Haiti. The company says it is also providing bottled water and other products through its bottler in the adjacent Dominican Republic.
The General Motors Foundation has donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross relief fund to help Haiti. GM also has provided a direct web-link that its employees can use to contribute personally to the Red Cross disaster fund. The company says its 10-year-old GM Global Aid has facilitated over $15 million in donations for disaster relief worldwide.
Wireless customers of AT&T can send $10 donations to the Red Cross International Relief Fund from their mobile devices by typing the word HAITI and sending it to 90999. AT&T says all money donated will be passed on to the Red Cross.
ConAgra has donated $100,000 to the ARC. The gift is in addition to ConAgra’s membership in the ARC’s Annual Disaster Giving Program, a commitment of $1 million over five years, per the ARC.
TD Bank is donating $100,000 to the Red Cross to support the earthquake-relief efforts. Kraft has given $25,000 to the ARC.

(www.mediapost.com)

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by Ben Sturner|January 8th, 2010

ESPN 3D to show soccer, football, more

Sports broadcasting will enter a new dimension in 2010…the third dimension, as ESPN will unveil the industry’s first 3-D network.
ESPN 3D will showcase a minimum of 85 live sporting events during its first year beginning June 11 with the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match, featuring South Africa vs. Mexico, ESPN and ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer announced.

(www.espn.com)

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by Ben Sturner|December 25th, 2009

TV Revs: ’09 Down 22%, Rise Predicted in ’10

By Wayne Friedman

BIA/Kelsey, a financial advisor to local media companies, estimates that TV stations’ ad revenues will rise 3% in 2010 — or $500 million — to $16.1 billion.
The media group now says 2009 will end at $15.6 billion, down 22.4% from last year’s $20.1 billion mark.
TV stations reached an all-time ad revenue record in 2006, when it was at $22.8 billion.
BIA says 2011 will see negative growth again — in part because it is a non-Olympic, non-political year.
BIA estimates by 2013, stations will only inch forward to $16.4 billion; however, it notes that TV stations have not been at such levels since the mid-1990s.

(www.mediapost.com)

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by Ben Sturner|December 18th, 2009

72% Of Advertisers See More Digital Spending In 2010

By Erik Sass

A regional survey of 8,500 senior advertising, marketing and media executives by Round2 Communications found that 72% predict they will increase their spending on digital media in the coming year.
Along with the good news for digital media, the survey (which focused on executives from companies headquartered in the Western U.S.) delivered some bad news for traditional: 86% of the respondents say they expect their spending on traditional media — including broadcast TV and radio and print newspapers and magazines — to remain even (45.7%) or decline (40.3%) in 2010.
But despite all the negative publicity, it’s worth noting that print still garners the lion’s share of media spending, with 47% of those surveyed saying print is their single biggest media investment.

(www.mediapost.com)

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by Ben Sturner|December 11th, 2009

Gatorade Drops Tiger (the Drink)

By Kenneth Hein

After less than two years, Gatorade is dropping Tiger Focus from its portfolio. There has been a great deal of buzz around the announcement given its timing. However, the plans have been in the works for months.